Marikina City Mayor Marcy Teodoro said on Monday, March 10, that he will cooperate with the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) in its investigation of alleged irregularities in the city government's purchase of office and school supplies.

According to the Ombudsman, criminal and administrative charges have been filed against Teodoro, Marikina 1st District Rep. Maan Teodoro, and four others by businessman Rico Mariano who asked the OMB to charge them with violations of Sections 3(e) and (h) of Republic Act No. 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code on malversation of public funds.

"As of now, I have not yet received a copy of the complaint. Anyone can file a complaint, but it is our duty to address any allegations with transparency and in accordance with due process," Teodoro said in a statement.

"Once we receive the official copy of the complaint filed before the Ombudsman, we will respond to all the accusations made against us," he added.

Also charged were former Barangay Sta. Elena councilor Marie Joy San Juan, accountant II Erlinda Gonzales, and former acting city treasurers Miguel Rebanal and Florenia Gamad.

Hinihimay Mabuti

Meanwhile, Ombudsman Samuel Martires said that 90 percent of cases filed before his office are now political, especially now that the midterm election is fast approaching.

"Lahat naman ng finifile na kaso sa Ombudsman ay binibigyan namin ng importansya, may halong pulitika kay wala. Pero 90 porsyento syempre ng mga pumapasok, lalo na’t malapit na ang eleksyon, ay may halong pulitika. Subalit hinihimay namin ito kung may katotohanan yung kanilang mga kaso na pina-file sa amin, yung mga walang katotohanan ay dinidismiss namin (All cases filed at the Ombudsman are given importance, regardless if there is politics behind it or not. However, 90 percent of those cases have politics mixed behind it, especially now that the election is near. Despite this, we are meticulously scrutinizing each and every case if there is truthfulness to it, while those that do not have are dismissed)," Martires said in a radio interview.

"Ang mahirap lang nito ay kung minsan hinihiling ng mga complainants na isuspindi kaagad yung nirereklamo nilang opisyal (What's difficult here is that there are times where the complainants wish to immediately suspend the official they filed raps against)," he added

Martires explained that not all charges filed at the Ombudsman will automatically result in the preventive suspension of the official being charged upon.

"Akala nila kasi lahat na lang ng kaso na pwede mong, na ipinafile sa ombudsman ay pwede mong ma-preventive suspension. Hindi ho, hindi ho, kasi merong bantayan ang batas na aming sinusunod kung kelan kami magiissue ng preventive suspension (They thought that all cases filed at the Ombudsman will constitute to the immediate preventive suspension of the public servant charged. But no. We follow a set of rules as to when to issue a preventive suspension against an official)," he stressed.